Fashion show

Catwalk season is upon us and as usual we are seeing what each of the designers has interpreted for the up and coming season. After taking a bit of wind down time after finishing my degree I am trying to get back into the swing of things in regards to keeping up with the new season trends and shapes, however it I have found with the last few seasons my interests are more drawn to what we are seeing on the street rather than the runway.

I was on Instagram a couple of months ago when I saw the news the my beloved Style.com was no more. For the entire time of my degree style.com was my biggest source for nearly all of the visual work I produced but there is now a new site Vogue Fashionwhich aims to work as the same concept site. I usually for each project look to the work from Tommy Tonfor my collections but today I have instead been viewing the work from Phil Oh.

I think my love of street style is that it takes the trends which are given to us by the designers but humanizes them. What I mean is that you can look at beautiful images from creative catwalk shows but you don’t see how it looks when someone dresses it into their own personal style, I love the mix and creation of new looks which sometimes don’t work and sometimes do.

The streets are still full of function vs style with trainers still being a wardrobe staple clashed against a more formal piece, seen here with this incredible oxblood number verses what I think are a pair of new balances. This is my favourite type of style when the wearer has fully integrated the catwalk to suite their own personal style.

All images used have been gathered from Tommy TonandPhil Oh over the last few months.

Today a yellow warning was issued over Belfast as the lovely people over at CMPR officially launched Belfast Fashion Week for Spring Summer 15.

They have kept to the same amazing venue as last season settling into Life Church on Bruce Street, which is only a short walk from the main city centre. Today was a day to showcase some of the incredible local talent we will see on the catwalks as well as the shops and boutiques that would be participating. Some of my personal highlights where local up and coming designer Chloe Dougan

Jayne is M&S and local boutique Spoilt Belle alongside Phoebe in Debenhams and again Spoilt Belle( image via BRENDAN GALLAGHER)

What I find so great about Belfast fashion week is how much they nurture and expose new local talent, this season is Chloe Dougan’s first which can also be said for stylist turned designer Sara Neil and local design duo Neil Coogan and John Gerard O’Neil who all show for the first time this March. Fashion week is being held from the 19th to the 22nd of March this year and if you guys are interested you can buy tickets HERE . I have been a volunteer with BFW for the last seven seasons and each season I get even more excited about what is in-store! I think Cathy Martin and the team have so much in-store for us this time around that it is definitely not to be missed with so many different events happening during the week there is definitely something for everyone!

Adriana, Stefania, Rebecca and Niamh showcase one of the big colour storys for the season ( image via BRENDAN GALLAGHER)

Ashleigh, Carys and Aimee again showcasing some of the bold graphic prints we can expect to see in the shows ( image via BRENDAN GALLAGHER)

So the toughest part of today was working out what I wanted to wear, knowing that you are going to be surrounded by a room full of local fashions finest is a tough ask for someone who isn’t all that used to dressing up by I gave it my best shot:

I think overall I was really pleased with my outfit it was for me a perfect way to introduce spring summer colours when it is still freezing outside. My hair looks so dark and flat in this photo but it is more of an auburn in real-life. I am just so happy to have a lovely photo of myself in colour and in a dress to prove to the doubters out there that I can wear something other than all black!

If this was the just the launch I cannot wait to see what this season will have in-store, make sure to keep an eye on the blog in March as I usually do a couple of backstage posts such as THIS ONE from last season.

I hope you enjoyed this guys, thanks to the wonderful Brendan Gallagher for taking such great pictures whilst both of my cameras have decided to break down in the space of a week

Back in around 2010 whilist going through a couple of fashion blogs, one of my favourite past-times, I stumbled across a closet interview from Stylelikeu. From that moment on I was completely hooked, I have probably watched every video or at least 99% of their videos by this point. I don’t think I could completely put into words what I gain from the videos but over the years I have primarily gained a sense of self-respect and self-love. The ethos of stylelikeu is the exploration of self and a move away from just accepting what society shows us e.g. Photoshop mass marketed churned out imagery. (SEE THEIR MISSION HERE)

Elisa and Lily are a mother daughter duo who set up stylelikeu in 2009 and have been championing self acceptance ever since. What really drew my to their work was the creation of the what’s underneath project. ( SEE MYLAS STORY HERE) it is a project to really get to the depths of what makes a person’s personal style and showing that it isn’t clothes that make a person rather the way in which they have developed throughout their lives that is the key.

One of the reasons that I chose Elisa and Lily as this weeks WCW ( women crush Wednesday) is that today saw the launch of their kickstarter project to raise funding to take the what’s underneath project globally and create an entire documentary about the movement. About 3 weeks ago I received an email from the SLU team asking if I wanted my testimonial be a part of the project, flashback about 3 months I emailed the SLU team just to express how much they have done for me without even realising it. I jumped at the chance to just to used in the wider context of the concept because I so passionately agree with their ethos. If you watch the video below I appear at about 4 minutes in!

What I hope others would learn from this website is that you dont have to conform to be beautiful, quoting one of my favourite closet confidential” Let your freak flag fly” we are all beautiful, we all have a purpose/ reason of existence and it is only through accepting ourselves that we can view the world as it is meant to be viewed.

I hope you guys like this quick post and I would seriously encourage you to head on over to their page and just watch a couple of the videos, I guarantee you will not regret it.

Quick Warning: This is going to be a very picture heavy post so you have been warned!

I have been a part of the backstage crew for the last eight seasons, I have seen it go from strength to strength and I have to say hands down this season has been one of my favourites so far. We were based in the Life church venue on Bruce street in Belfast city centre. This proved to be a great centralised location and meant that any issues that arose with security tags being left on etc. could be resolved in a matter of minutes. The location itself was very beautiful indeed with everything from amazing quirky jam jars lights to chair used as shelves nailed to the walls. The space really lent itself very well to hosting a fashion show and gave retailers a great shop the show space outside the main catwalk area.

My involvement with fashion week started on Wednesday morning when I went on over to castlecourt to help out John Gerard ( @astylistsopinion on Instagram) to put together and finish pulling the castlecourt rounds for Saturday nights high street showcase. We where based out of an old unit in the centre which made our jobs so much easier because a lot of time has to go into organising clothes depending on model sizing and also what category’s we wanted to show E.g. head to toes glitz and winter garden greens. I had a lot of fun helping out as I have worked with castlecourt since the beginning of my volunteering days just over three years ago. Yes it is very stressful because we had 15 models, plus-size, men’s and children’s to put together and organise but when you see the looks hit the runway it is all totally worth all the time and effort you have put in.

Wednesday the 15th of October marked the official first night of A/W 14 at BFW it started with a charity screening of mean girls for the pretty in pink charity. The runway shows began on Thursday night with Excel clothing showcase. Excel is a company that I have to be honest I hadn’t heard of prior to the show but after a bit of research and seeing the amazing array of outfits on Thursday night it is definitely a brand that I would look to in the future, they stock everything from Vivienne Westwood to Belstaff and everything in-between.

During fashion week my primary role is as a dresser which means I work with a model to help them with their changes between each round, on Thursday I was working with the male models ( tough job but someone has to do it right!) I was paired up with Piaras who you might remember I worked with last season. We had 6 looks which included some amazing pieces from Armani and Hugo Boss but the jacket above with the built in sunglasses had to be my personal favourite look.

Probably the best bit of Thursday night and one of the best moments from the whole event was getting to me my idol aka HelenMelon aka Melon lady at the Excel showcase. Excel clothing had brought over Helen and Kavita ( who unfortunately I didn’t get a picture with) to see the showcase and also experience Belfast. I have been watching Helen on YouTube for years now and as soon as I saw her post on Instagram that she was coming to the show not going to lie I freaked out. It was so surreal and I know I bored the life out of everyone around me but I made it my nights goal to at least say hello. Helen was just so lovely even though I was a wee bit shaky around her she was lovely and agreed to a quick picture before the show. It still feels so surreal as I have been watching her for so long but if anyone is reading this THANK YOU excel for bringing the girls over for the show.

Another favourite Selfie from the week ( can you see a trend forming) is the first night I got reunited with my Partner in crime Rosanna AKA Silver Brogues . Rosanna and I have been working together since she started assisting at fashion week 3 season ago even though both of us agree it feels like so much longer. But you will see more of Rosanna throughout this post.

Friday night was local designers and Boutiques night and I was paired up with the stunning Mairead who again you should recognise if you saw my last seasons posts. This is probably one of my favourite nights because I love so many local designers, some highlights being Julia Sokele and Kate Wilson

The rest of the week was a bit of a blur with early starts and late finishes but I was able to document it all through a lot of photos hence the #selfiegameisstrong this is probably the best way to sum up the week. Selfies all over the show !

Did any of you guys attend any of the show what did you think? If you every want any advice about volunteering what to expect and who to email just email me at Gingersnapsvintage@yahoo.com

Today Coco Belfast hosted a celebration of local design talented in the heart of the city. I was very honored to be asked to show two of my latest creations. I love events like this because they show just how amazing local talent is in Northern Ireland, designers that showed included:

Gordan Donaldson

Una Rodden

Nicole McKenna

Katie Wilson

Deimante Vuitton

Reda

Myself

The setting was great because it had a really intimate feel and you could really see all the gorgeous outfits up close and personal.

Pre-show we got to relax in the beautiful atmosphere of Coco with a glass of bubbly and a beautiful selection of canapes, all the while listening to relaxing french music.

Round one was Gordon Donaldson a local up and coming designer and also a classmate of mine ( well technically he is a year above me) I have always loved Gordan’s work and his choice of fabrics and prints today didn’t disappoint.

Next up was me, I just finished making these floral crowns yesterday and I am so happy with how they look with the garments, the colours really compliment the outfits, I will be doing a better post on my work very soon so expect better pictures then.

Next up Nicole McKenna another fellow classmate and her collection entitled Spoiled is a great mix of metallic, faux leathers and prints. The mirrored leather skirt is definitely one of my favourite pieces from today’s event.

Next up was Deimante and her mum showing that fashion definitely runs in their family. Deimante’s work was a beautiful mix of floral vintage with a modern twist. Just how beautiful is that gold nude dress on the stunning model Ella.

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson- How incredible is this dress I just wish my photo was better

Round 6 and 7 was Katie Wilson and Una Rodden. Una Rodden is an established local designer who I have had the pleasure to do a placement with in upper sixth, I have always loved her style especially her drapey dresses such as the beautiful emerald green number. Katie is another designer local to Belfast who actually works with Una Rodden, her style again is another of my favorites I feel like I could write a whole blog post about the gold heavy embellished dress again worn by Ella.

Overall it was a great event and I would definitely recommend if you are local to Belfast checking it out if they decide to repeat it because its a great afternoon out!

Also if you are looking for a great local restaurant for a bite to eat then I would definately recommend Coco Belfast:

Long time no speak, Life has completely taken over and I just don’t have a free minute anywhere. As a result my YouTube/ Blog has really suffered but I hope to get back on track in the next week or so, so please bear with me.so of course as pictured above I couldn’t start off any post without a wee sneaky selfie with my backstage BFF’s Rosanna from http://silverbrogues.com/ Christopher and Scott, after all we are so manic that sometimes we need to just have a wee break.

This is my seventh season backstage and it also marks BFW tenth year. Day one this year was local designer night with a great mixture of established designers such as Una Rodden and Grainne Maher and new faces such as Gordan Donaldson and Julia Sokele.

Models in look one of the night.

This season I was once again paired up with the gorgeous Mairead, we had a lot of fun during the fittings , fittings are when you try everything for size and ensure that there are no issues going to arise during the show such as wrong sizes that need pinned etc.

The Minnie mouse look from local boutique Diamond Dolls was definitely a favourite for us both but a special mention has to go to the drop dead stunning Blush bridal boutique Sequin number. Photos don’t do any justice to just how sparkly this dress is! Unfortunately I didn’t get many piccies on day one but I think day two I made up for it.

Above are the first looks from day two but lets go back a couple of hours, Day two was high-street which also brought with an Argento preview event which I was very kindly invited along to.

Fashion show director Cathy Martin with some of the models.

The event was beautifully set up and all the jewellery looked amazing, if you are as much of a magpie as I am then you understand why I was so excited. I huge thank you to Ian from http://roguesandbrogues.blogspot.co.uk/ for being such a lovely host and also for giving us the lovely wee surprise, I got a beautiful necklace from the Karma range.

So once I left the world of sparkles and West Coast Cooler I went back to my day job so to speak to prepare for the show. Now I changed models for this night and I was actually part of the Male model team which I have never done before.

These are just a few of the boys, Connor and Piaras’s looks from the show.

The hair and make-up on day two was probably my favourite with a mix of glitter by the bucket load and colourful hair pieces.

so without making this post even longer I will end it now, I cannot wait for tonight because not only do we have renound make-up artist Paddy McGurgan creating amazing body painting looks but we also have the charity challenge featuring 10 local bloggers and stylists creating 10 looks in collaboration with local charity shops , all the looks are then available to buy after the show!

If you are into your fashion as much as I am you are totally aware that it is fashion season with all the designers and fashion houses showing their Fall 2014 collections worldwide. At the minute the worlds attention is on London, I was looking forward particulary to one show Ashish. Ashish is a London based designer whos work usually involves alot of sequins.

I have included the show video from Topshop’s youtube and I urge you to watch the show there because from the photographs its hard to get the full concept of the show.

To sum up the looks in 5 words:

1. Prom Queen

2. Grunge denim

3. Japanese Kawaii

4. SEQUINS SEQUINS SEQUINS

5. Alien lights

I need everything from this collection however the buffalo light up shoes are a personal favourite, here are some of my favourite looks, enjoy!

Chloe Norgaard looked like a My Little Pony and I am totally ok with that!

The middle top reads LOVE WILL WIN and with everything featured in the news recently it was a perfect end to the show.

So to sum up day two I would have to say: Crazy! (But in a good way) . My day started at 830 when I left the house but as soon as I got into town my shoes snapped and I had to literally hop it down to Primark to quickly buy some replacements! After that I arrived at the museum and some of my first tasks where collecting things for the goodie bags from Castlecourt.

I said it yesterday but at fashion week my main role is as a backstage dresser so I normally sepnd most of my day organising clothes and fitting the models.

Day two is the highstreet show and what I love best is knowing that you can leave that night and gp.shopping the next day to find everything instore!

Today (saturday ) is my final day at fashion week although it does continue on till sunday but today will probably be my busiest day as I am assiting at both the Merchant Cruise show and then the BFW designer show!